lucas wrote:I dont really know a way to put this nicely, so I'll be blunt. The "new grain" window is crap. DBFG, DBCG, AICG, FG-CG, etc... wtf does any of that mean? hovertext? nope. help button? nope. online documentation? yes, but it shouldnt come down to REQUIRING me check that.

to add insult to injury, the window is relatively tiny on a 1024x768, it's not as though space were a concern when filling the window with acronyms

This was one of my original complaints about BTP -- not only the acronyms in the grain window, but the almost total lack of documentation. Setting up the online wiki was a positive step, but like you, I don't want to have to mess around logging on and checking every time I need a definition. The lack of embedded help has severely limited my use of BTP (and, I'm afraid, has also kept me from recommending it in the various forums).

Well stated, CJ. I totally agree. Lack of documentation is the Achilles Heel of an otherwise great program. The Wiki may be well intentioned, but it just doesn't cut it IMO. Perhaps when version 1.1 is released this shortcoming will be addressed.

lucas wrote:I'd like to be able to enter the time I add my first hop addition (ie. 12:34pm) and have BTP tell me the time's of each of the following additions. would make less work for me when setting alarms on my phone to remind me to do stuff

Even if BTP did that wouldn't you still have to set an alarm as a reminder, or am I not understanding what you said. BTW, here is a link to a Brew Timer that you can download. I don't know if this will help you, but I've used it a few times and it's OK.

Would it be possible to have an unstyled html export option? I like the bbcode option that is there now, and I understand having the html export as it is now, but it would also be nice to have just plain xhtml tags without the added style information that overrides external css.

I see that beersmith just added a nice feature that I'd like to see in BTP

Mash Adjustment tool

All grain brewers occasionally miss their target infusion temperatures. The mash adjustment tool determines how much hot or cold water to add to adjust your mash mixture. Just plug in the current conditions, target temperature and temperature of water you are adding (usually cold or boiling water) and this tool will tell you how much to add.

Would it also be possible to add a fermentation button at the bottom (where the style, analysis buttons are) so you could enter the information x days at x temp Primary, x days at x temp secondary etc.

jawbox wrote:I see that beersmith just added a nice feature that I'd like to see in BTP

Mash Adjustment tool

All grain brewers occasionally miss their target infusion temperatures. The mash adjustment tool determines how much hot or cold water to add to adjust your mash mixture. Just plug in the current conditions, target temperature and temperature of water you are adding (usually cold or boiling water) and this tool will tell you how much to add.

Just in case I decide to stick with BTP, I'll add my two cents. Although I haven't missed my target enough to need the above in the past, it is always a possibility. If I miss it and come in too low, I might prefer to do a decoction rather than add more hot water, especially since extra water would seem to mess up the rest of the mash schedule (any other infusions, sparging, etc.), so maybe a decoction could be an option built into the Mash Adjustment Tool, i.e., an "unplanned" decoction. In other words, I would not alter my schedule at all; instead, I would open a tool -- maybe in the "Calculator" window -- and just bring my mash up to temp.

djavet wrote:I wish to see a timer like this for the brew session for the people who brew with computer near the kettle: ... snipped image ...Will be cool, no?

Dom

Well, Dom, why do you ask that something like this timer, which you probably already have and which the rest of us can easily get for FREE, be incorporated into BTP? What's wrong with downloading and running it like it is? Surely your computer has the capability of running two programs at once -- your "BeerToolsPro" and the "Brewday Timer". I just downloaded it and it works just fine, and I've got about six programs running right now. The problem with asking for something like this to be added to BTP, ... aside from the fact that it is completely unnecessary since you've already provided a source for a FREE program that does precisely that ..., is that it just adds to complexity of BTP even for those of us who don't want or will never use that feature, and it also adds to the load of requests that Jeff and Lathe already face. Just my two cents.

Boy, Bill, you could argue that 90% of what BTP does is available for free elsewhere on the web, including BeerTools.com. I can find hop utilization, grain bill tools, recipe tools, etc if I look hard enough. As for what people might or might not use, you could argue that over half of the recent additions are things that a majority of BTP users will never touch (and probably 75% of the full feature set isn't going to be used by most people). Are we going to limit our requests to things that Jeff and Lathe can do quickly and efficiently? Or are we shooting for the best brewing tool out there?

Sorry, I normally agree with your comments, but this one is a bit too short-sighted, I think.

After reading your post and giving this some further thought, I have to agree that I was wrong. This would be a good feature and there are a couple of reasons that I can think of now why it ought to be eventually incorporated into BTP:
1. Not everyone is going to find this thread or otherwise know about the timer that djavet referred us to, so having it as a part of BTP will ensure that all users of BTP can be easily aware of it; and
2. By making it an integral part of BTP, values can automatically be set in the various timers according to the times that we have already entered for hops, etc., on our ingredients screen. Not only will that make it easier and quicker by avoiding the need for double entries, but it also eliminates errors because when you'd make a change in your schedule the timer would automatically change so you won't need to remember to do it.

My earlier response was no doubt a sub-conscious self-interest of discounting something I don't think I'd personally need or want in order to help protect my own priorities, and I'm sorry that I was just being selfish. Basically, the root of the problem is that I have been concerned that we'll _never_ see all the things that we'd like, and _might_ not even see some of the more basic things that we really _need_ fixed. However, I've read Jeff's recent posts in another thread which admits that he is behind but indicates that he is apparently taking a renewed interest in things, so maybe we'll start seeing some progress again like we had when BTP was first released.